Besprechungen: atlas van tropisch Nederland

Summary

This text comprises two book reviews. The first highly praises the 'Atlas of Tropical Netherlands', published in 1938 by the Royal Dutch Geographical Society in collaboration with the Topographical Service of the Dutch East Indies. The review highlights the atlas as a masterpiece of cartography, containing 31 sheets with over 70 maps, covering both purely topographical and scientific content. It details the atlas's topographical representation, scientific value (including thematic maps on volcanoes, earthquakes, plant geography, languages, and economics), and its multilingual explanations and index. The second review criticizes Frazer's 'The Native Races of Africa and Madagascar', arguing that the book is merely a compilation of excerpts from notebooks, lacking systematic critical analysis and failing to provide a coherent picture of individual cultures. It further challenges Frazer's simplistic view of the difference between 'civilisation' and 'savagery', asserting that it overlooks the complexity and diversity of cultural development.